Lili Williams' life pivoted on 9/11.She and her husband, Bill Williams, were highly paid employees of Intel Corp. before that date, two of the chip-makers' 100,000 employees worldwide.They ...

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Who are these guys?

Lili Williams' life pivoted on 9/11.

She and her husband, Bill Williams, were highly paid employees of Intel Corp. before that date, two of the chip-makers' 100,000 employees worldwide.

They worked on the Folsom campus.

"After 9/11, life didn't have a lot of meaning without helping others," she said. Lili resigned; Bill retired.

Today, they own the Sacramento-based Occupational Skills Center, a private vocational education school that helps those out of work obtain new job skills. They have a small, second campus inside downtown Stockton's Waterfront Warehouse.

"We love every minute of it," Lili Williams said. "This is not work to me. It's what I was meant to do."

They take turns between Sacramento and Stockton. Most of their students are referred by either WorkNet or the Veterans Affairs Department.

Lili is 51; Bill is 61.

"This area is beautiful," said Bill Williams, pointing out the window. "I used to have my boat at the Stockton Marina. The VA is why we came here. We decided to take a chance and then found this beautiful building."

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STOCKTON - William "Bill" Whatley may have been born as World War II began, but he's definitely a 21st century man.

And at 72, he feels like his life is just getting started.

Hip in his Navy cap, tight ponytail, earrings and leather jacket, Whatley was the center of attention this week during a special graduation ceremony at the Occupational Skills Center inside the Waterfront Warehouse.

He is easily the new vocational training school's most famous graduate. And its most beloved.

"I didn't think I could do it," Whatley said as three dozen family members and well-wishers applauded - and cheered - his accomplishments.

Whatley, a disabled veteran, has mastered an array of Web and graphic design programs, including Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, social media, Dreamweaver and Flash.

Whatley was injured while serving in the Navy from 1958-62. He moved to Stockton in 2006 to live closer to a brother, and he is engaged to marry Burnell "Nell" Cantero.

Whatley has been enrolled in computer classes off and on since the center first opened its doors along the water in downtown Stockton in 2010.

"He is so much a part of this school. He is so much of who we are as a school," said Lili Williams, co-owner of the private center. "He created the family environment we have here. He's such a good guy."

Whatley's lunchtime interaction with his fellow students, most of them half his age, has inspired him to blend his newfound computer skills with another passion: sausage making.

In 1986, a doctor told him that he had high cholesterol and needed to stop eating red meat. "He said I had to eat turkey and fish," said Whatley. "I had to find ways to make things taste good. In 1993, ground turkey came along, and I used it in spaghetti, tacos, burgers and lasagna."

He also missed eating sausage, which he loved.

"I had to figure out a way to make turkey links. I got a book, I got a machine for the sleeves," Whatley said. "I started to experiment with a little bit of this and a little bit of that. You know, secret spices."

He called his creation Missing Links, but had no idea if it was good enough for others.

Once a week, at the Occupational Skills Center, the faculty and students have a potluck. Whatley started bringing his Missing Links to school and soon heard praise for his culinary contribution.

An entrepreneur was born.

He also brought a boom box and his love of his music. Whatley was a Bay Area lounge singer years ago and still operates a makeshift studio in Stockton.

Through encouragement from Williams and others, he used his new computer skills to design a Missing Links logo and develop a multidimensional Web page featuring music and interactive elements.

One of his bragging points is featured on the yet-to-be-launched website.

Using humor, Whatley says his sausage has no "artificial colors, additives, preservatives or other words you can't pronounce."

Williams hopes now to approach the Small Business Administration about getting a loan for Whatley's next step. The man who knows Dreamweaver now has a dream of jump-starting a sausage-making business over the Internet.

"He is a go-getter," said Brooklyn-born Tabatha Vega, one of his instructors. "He has such a positive attitude. He is someone to emulate."

Added Williams, saying she had mixed feelings over the graduation of one of her favorite students:

"He an example of motivation, persistence, desire to learn and inspiration to all of us."